The present invention relates to antivibration supports (e.g. for supporting the engine of a motor vehicle on the vehicle bodywork), and it also relates to vehicles including such supports.
More particularly, the invention relates to an antivibration support for interconnecting first and second rigid elements to support a permanent axial load applied between said first and second rigid elements along a first axis, and to damp vibration between said first and second rigid elements, the antivibration support comprising:
first and second rigid strength members for connecting to the two rigid elements that are to be united, the first strength member having at least one limit finger which extends along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis and which is surrounded at least in part by a rigid cage belonging to the second strength member, said cage having an outer surface facing away from the limit finger and an inner surface facing towards the limit finger, which inner surface is adapted to co-operate with said limit finger by coming into abutment therewith to limit relative movements between the first and second strength members along said first axis and along a third axis perpendicular to the first and second axes, the first strength member having at least one support member presenting a bearing face looking substantially along the first axis towards the limit finger, and the rigid cage of the second strength member being interposed between said bearing face and the limit finger; and
an elastomer link device connecting the outer surface of the rigid cage to the bearing surface of the support member, the elastomer link device being adapted to support said permanent axial load, and said elastomer link device having two arms which extend along the first axis from the second strength member and which diverge along the third axis until they reach the first strength member.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,822 describes an example of such an antivibration support, which presents the drawbacks of being complex and expensive to make.
A particular object of the present invention is to mitigate that drawback.
To this end, the invention provides an antivibration support of the kind in question, characterized in that the two arms of the elastomer link device are connected respectively to two distinct support fingers belonging to the first strength member, said support fingers being disposed longitudinally parallel to the second axis and being offset on either side of the limit finger, the support fingers and the limit finger being formed as a single piece.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, use can optionally also be made of one or more of the following dispositions:
the second strength member is in the form of a central arch extended laterally outwards by two fixing tabs for fixing to the second rigid element, the central arch surrounding the limit finger in part;
the limit finger includes an elastomer coating;
the first strength member is a light alloy casting; and
the first strength member has a body provided with fixing means suitable for enabling said body to be fixed to the first rigid element, the support fingers and the limit finger being formed integrally with said body.
The invention also provides a motor vehicle comprising bodywork connected to an engine unit via at least one antivibration support, a first element selected from the engine unit and the bodywork being fixed to the first strength member, and a second element selected from the engine unit and the bodywork being fixed to the second strength member.
Advantageously, the second strength member has a central arch which is extended laterally outwards by two fixing tabs each fixed to the second element, the limit finger being adapted to co-operate with both the central arch and said second element by coming into abutment therewith so as to limit relative movements between the first and second strength members parallel to the first and third axes.